SAN ANTONIO — If you are a middle aged adult, odds are at some point you've suffered from back pain. In tonight's Wear The Gown, we discover several ways people deal with back pain and not all require medication.
Osteopathic manipulative medicine, or OMM, is the therapeutic application of manual pressure or force to relive back pain. But this type of treatment varies from person to person.
"Some people don't want to use any medications and may be one of the reasons they may seek OMM. And then others may need a combination of therapies or treatment options to help control their pain on a day to day basis," said Dr. Elizabeth Balyakina who is a family physician with University Health.
Balyakina specializes in osteopathic manipulative medicine and says there can be many reasons for the very common lower back pain. "It can be related to a muscular injury like a sprain. It can be related to the bone, such as osteoarthritis. It can be related to the nerves."
A National Health Interview Survey found 39% of adults suffer from back pain. 36.5% had lower limb pain and 30.7% were dealing with upper limb pain. Adults 65 and up, non-Hispanic white adults and those with income below 100% of the federal poverty level were most likely to suffer from back pain.
Sciatic pain is a very common form of lower back pain where a nerve can become pinched, and can often be debilitating. Dr. Balyakina told us, "If there's impingement here or on either side, or maybe there's a bulging disk that's pressing on to a nerve, it can cause shooting pain and discomfort."
So how do you know when your pain is bad enough to see a doctor? "It's usually recommended to stay as mobile as you can. Apply ice if you need to. Certainly if you have any numbness or weakness in the legs, that would be a very important reason to come see the doctor," said Dr. Balyakina.
For more information about family health call 210-358-3045. You can also find the rest of Wear The Gown stories, just go to WearTheGown.com.
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